A Gift of Love
by beautiful.intentions
Summary: "A name is usually a gift of love. But for you who have been abandoned, love does not exist. Signs of pretense like that must be eliminated."


The first few months of Lisa's pregnancy were marked by Twelve's anxious attentiveness, Nine's careful planning, and her unbridled happiness. It was like their lives from just two years prior were fleeting nightmares. Twelve and Nine no longer had to be invisible. Shibazaki had made sure they received proper identities in light of what they were subjected to in the name of the Athena Plan. Nine was taking pills to combat the side effects of the experiments. He was doing well; his regular serious self if anything. Twelve was a perpetual presence at Lisa's side ever since she revealed herself pregnant. She was very grateful, because one thing that hadn't changed was her general clumsiness, and they all knew it.

She was at seven and a half months, and blatantly, glaringly pregnant. Twelve often asked if it was alright to feel her bulging belly. Lisa could never refuse him because the fascinated expression he would get every time he felt a little kick was too cute. From the start, Twelve had wanted a girl, and the month before when they had an ultrasound done, he got his wish. They were having a baby girl. "She's going to be beautiful, just like you," Twelve had remarked, bringing a blush to her face. Lisa had a feeling he was going to be a good father, but he doubted himself. It was at night when they lie in bed together that he confined in her his fears.

"I don't know the first thing about babies or being a dad," he said solemnly, arms wrapped around her from behind. "How do you even hold a baby?"

Lisa thought about it for a bit. "You have to be really careful, kind of like you're holding a bomb."

"You're cute, did you know that?" He replied sarcastically, lightly pinching her cheek. "I'm trying to remember when you got a sense of humor."

After sharing a quick laugh, a silence fell over them.

Lisa shifted positions, turning around to face him and pulled his head to her chest in a loving embrace. She could tell he was surprised by the way he froze. "You hold a baby like this," she demonstrated, twirling some of his wavy hair around her finger. It hurt to think about how he was never held like this. She knew he had less experience with the role of parents than most of those in the worst of situations. But... "I know you can do it; you're kind and funny and patient and your hands are confident. There isn't anyone else that I would rather have this baby with."

Twelve was quiet and completely still as she said all this. He was concentrating on her words, her breath on his scalp, her softness, her scent. This was probably kind of like what being held by a mother would have been like, he thought contentedly, nestling into her. Lisa would definitely be a perfect mother. He wrapped his arms around her, a smile forming on his lips. "You're warm."

"So are you."

"I love you, Lisa."

"I love you, too, Twelve."

* * *

><p>The next morning when Lisa woke, Twelve wasn't in the bed next to her. He was probably taking a shower. She groggily lifted herself off the mattress to put on some shorts and make her way to the main room of the apartment. Nine was there tapping away at his laptop with a particularly impressive case of bedhead even by his standards. He glanced up as she drew near.<p>

"You look a mess," he spoke simply, shifting his eyes back to the monitor.

"Thank you. I really like what you're doing with your hair." Lisa and Nine had more or less found a way by which they were comfortable conversing that consisted of light insults and sarcastic remarks. Lisa thought she could detect pride in his serious features whenever she made a good comeback.

Nine made a "tch" sound with his teeth and turned his chair around. "How are you feeling?"

Lisa took a seat on the couch. "A little nauseous, but nothing to worry about."

A silence ensued. Lisa guessed she still wasn't as good at conversing with Nine as she should be. She would work on it.

"Twelve and I are going to start baby-proofing the apartment soon. Is there anything else that you can think of that we might be forgetting to prepare?"

It was a wonder why Nine was even asking her. He had done enough research for the three of them about baby needs. "I think you've got everything covered. Thank you, Nine. I don't know what we would do without you."

Nine turned back around to his laptop to continue whatever he was doing before she walked in. "It's only because you two decided to do something irresponsible."

Lisa couldn't help but smile at his back.

Just then, the front door opened and Twelve entered the apartment holding his helmet and two bags of what could be presumed to be food. So he wasn't in the shower as she had previously thought. "Good morning," he greeted, setting one bag down next to Nine. He then placed the other bag in front of Lisa while stealing a quick peck on her lips. "I went to that place you like."

Since getting pregnant Lisa had developed a taste for the food of a certain restaurant. The thing was, it wasn't exactly close to their apartment. Twelve went to get her food from there about three times a week, even though she told him he didn't have to. "Thank you..." She felt bad every single time.

While Twelve put his helmet away, Lisa poked at the food. "Twelve, what do you think we should name her?" she asked, nonchalantly.

Twelve froze briefly. It wasn't the first time she had asked him. Every other time he had changed the subject or gave a dismissive answer. She wished he would at least discuss it with her.

But it seemed like he still didn't feel up to it. He averted his eyes. "I'm not really sure."

Lisa lowered her head. "Oh..."

"Twelve," spoke Nine in an admonishing tone.

Twelve squeezed his eyes shut and sighed, plopping down on the couch next to Lisa and resting his hand on her thigh. "I'm sorry I've been... dodging that subject. I hope you don't think I'm not excited for our baby."

Lisa didn't reply, opting instead to wait for him to continue.

"It's complicated, but the best way I can describe what I feel every time I think about naming her is... overwhelmed. At the settlement, we were thoughtlessly given numbers as names and told we had to forsake love as it had forsaken us."

Nine's fingers had long halted their tapping. Though Lisa could not see his face, she knew he was listening and remembering.

Twelve's voice had grown soft as he spoke, causing a pang in Lisa's chest. She took his hand and squeezed it. She hated when they talked about the settlement. They always looked so sad and she felt like she couldn't do anything for them.

"We were told a name is a gift of love. And that is where I find myself at a loss - because I love our baby. I love her so much that I would do anything for her and I haven't even met her yet. How can I express this feeling to her with a name?"

Lisa squeezed his hand tighter. She could feel happy tears welling up in her eyes. She laughed, wiping at one if her eyes with her free hand. "You're overthinking it, silly. Any name we decide will be fine. She'll know we love her regardless."

"That's a relief," he replied, releasing her hand to reach his arm around her shoulders and pull her close so that his head rested on hers. They didn't say anything for a while after that until Twelve finally spoke again.

"What do you think of the name Sumarlina?"


End file.
